Introduction:
Every place has its own defining characteristics, just like people. To the Chinese there is nothing more beautiful than the rocky side of a mist-shrouded mountain with a few trees desperately clinging to it. The hills of Guilin are a great example of this. Man is always shown as a small presence in the vastness and grandeur of nature. Mountains and water are large and imposing. In this view, man is just a part of nature, not its ruler.(Shanshui) Shanshui is tied into Chinese religious and philosophical thought, "harmony between the human spirit and nature".

The Chinese have always been able to express themselves sensitively using art. Through painting, calligraphy, and poetry, they express, on rolls of silk or paper, their love of nature. Traditional Chinese painting is based on China's most valued art form, calligraphy, which is over 2,000 years old.

Grade level: adaptable to any grade

Objectives: Students will be able to:

1. Explain some of the topographical features of China's landscape.
2. Use a variety of maps to explain the relationship between population density, landforms, climate, and land use.
3. Use a variety of decision-making and critical thinking models to analyze, evaluate and propose solutions to real-life geographic problems.
4. View a Chinese landscape and discuss their view of the harmony between man and nature.
5. Create their own karst mountain scene.

Themes: Location, Place, Region, Human/Environment Interaction

Geography Standards: The geographically informed person knows and understands:

Standard 1 - How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.

Standard 3 - How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environment on Earth¼s surface.

Standard 6 - How culture and experience influence people¼s perceptions of places and regions.

Standard 7 - The physical processes that shape patterns of Earth¼s surface.

Skills:

• Asking geographic questions
• Acquiring geographic information
• Organizing geographic information
• Analyzing geographic information
• Answering geographic questions

Materials :

• Physical maps,
• Population Density maps,
• Land use maps, climate maps, etc.,
• watercolor brush,
• black tempera paint or black Indian ink,
• white construction paper, manila construction paper ( 1 each per child),
• scissors,
• chalk (black or colored),
• tissue

Procedure:
Part I
Divide class into groups, providing groups with maps of China. Students will attempt to draw conclusions about China in terms of what these maps show. The group must find one conclusion to share with the class. They may share their conclusion with the class by creating a poster, singing a song, acting out, etc.

Teacher lead questioning.

1. What part of China is the most densely populated? Least populated?
2. What are the landforms in the areas with the least amount of people?
3. Why do you think this population is spread out so unevenly?
4. What is the trend in population and how would you suggest helping China?
5. Why do you think the Chinese tend to be moving into the cities?
6. How could China persuade people to stop moving into the cities?

Part II

1. View Chinese landscapes - through slides, books, photos, and paintings. Discuss erosion and the earth's forces that change our world.
2. Create your own karst mountain scenes.
   1. Draw mountain peaks on manila paper.
   2. Cut out the peaks and keep only the sky part. (top)
   3. Apply a heavy chalk line around the edge of the mountain tops.
   4. Place on white paper and use tissue to wipe down from the chalk line onto the paper. The result will be a shadowy mountain silhouette.

   5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to show mountains in foreground and background.
   6. Using black ink or tempera, add details such as trees and buildings to the drawing. Brush strokes are very important in a Chinese painting. Trees and buildings, represented mostly by horizontal and vertical lines- reflect the elegance of fine calligraphy. In traditional Chinese painting, black ink and washes are used to suggest distance and solidity. ( Have students practice before trying these brushstrokes on their pictures)

Evaluation:

1. Students explanations of population density should be geographically sound.
2. Students paintings should reflect the Chinese perception of beauty as related to nature.

Extensions:

1. Have students create Chinese style paintings of their own environment.
2. Discuss kites and their role in Chinese history. Make a kite. Find your own mountain top to fly it from.
3. Crickets - Cricket cages
4. Paper making
5. Compass making
6. Silk - Silkworm
7. Calligraphy
8. Silk Road
9. Paper Umbrellas
10. Abacus
11. Fireworks